John FoystonBen Love and Van Havig with their weapons of mass destruction, a roto hammer and a pick -- or is that a mattock? They'd spent a good long day with such implements, and Havig had a sizable knot on his forehead from an errant rock flung up by his pick. But most of the drain trenching was finished by beer-thirty Tuesday. Wednesday is deal-with-the-city day about permits and the like.

This may actually evolve into a many part series if I get over to Gigantic Brewing every week to document the progress. It's definitely early innings this week...Ben and Van had spent a long Tuesday with their plumber and some laborers digging trenches for the various drains with hopes that they can pour concrete for the brewery floor next week. Still to come: nearly everything, but re-roofing and reskinning the 1951 steel truss building should happen soo, and that'll make a huge difference. ETA? They're still hoping for late winter/early spring 2012, but it may be TTB approval, not construction, that delays things...stay tuned for updates..

John FoystonRight now, the building is little more than a shell. The equipment in the foreground is for grinding and patching the concrete to seal it. Everything to the right of the center uprights -- the brewery side, in other words -- will be poured anew. The tasting room will be in the right corner of the building.

John FoystonHere's what it will look like: This is the tasting room corner and building front from Southeast 26th Avenue.

View full sizeThey've got their first piece to hang on the tasting room wall. I framed that 1933 Popular Science story "Beer Making is a Marvel of Industrial Chemistry." Not only did they love it, but Van started identifying a bunch of the equipment pictured and said that he used to work in an old-school Midwest brewery where they still used the stuff. They want to use the flying wing on the mag cover on a future beer label.